This document contains special considerations that apply when running Natural in batch mode. It covers the following topics:
Natural distinguishes between two processing modes:
interactive mode (with Natural Studio)
batch mode
The main difference between these two modes is that in interactive mode, the commands and data are input by the user by means of the keyboard and the output is displayed on a screen. In batch mode, input is read from a file and output is written to a file - without user interaction.
When Natural is run as a batch job, no interaction between Natural and the person who submitted the batch job is necessary. The batch job consists of programs that are executed sequentially and that receive sequential input data.
Batch mode is useful for mass data processing on a regular basis.
Batch mode is activated with the parameter BATCHMODE.
To start a Natural session in batch mode
Start Natural with the dynamic
parameter BATCHMODE as shown below:
nderun BATCHMODE
or
natural BATCHMODE
nderun.exe starts the runtime version of Natural. natural.exe starts the development version of Natural. Other than natural.exe, nderun.exe does not start plug-ins. Plug-ins are not needed when running Natural in batch mode. It is therefore recommended to use nderun.exe since this prevents errors due to plug-in activation failures.
The above call (where only the BATCHMODE parameter is
specified) assumes that the required input and output channels have already been
defined in the Configuration Utility. For information on the input and output
channels, see Using Natural in Batch
Mode later in this section). For information on the
batch-mode-relevant profile parameters in the parameter file, see Batch
Mode in the Configuration Utility documentation.
It is also possible to add the required input and output channels as dynamic parameters to the above call. This is illustrated in Sample Session for Batch Mode later in this section. Any input and output channels that are specified as dynamic parameters with the above call override the channel definitions in the parameter file.
Check the file which has been defined as the output channel. At its end, this file should contain the message that your session has terminated normally.
A Natural session in batch mode is terminated when one of the following is encountered during the session:
the system command FIN in the batch input file, or
a TERMINATE statement in
a Natural program which is being executed.
Note
When an end-of-input condition occurs in the batch input file, the batch session is
also terminated. In this case, the file which has been defined as the output channel
contains a message which indicates an unexpected end.
To start a Natural session in batch
mode you have to specify the dynamic parameter BATCHMODE. In
addition, input and output channels have to be defined as described below.
Important
The input channels CMSYNIN and/or
CMOBJIN and the output channel CMPRINT
are always required for batch mode.
The following topics are covered below:
The following parameters are available for batch mode:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
CMSYNIN |
Defines the batch input file which contains the Natural
commands and (optionally) data to be read by INPUT statements during execution of Natural
programs.
|
CMOBJIN |
Defines the batch input file which contains the data to be
read by INPUT
statements. This data can alternatively be placed in the file defined with the
parameter CMSYNIN, immediately following the relevant
RUN
or EXECUTE command.
|
CMPRINT |
Defines the batch output file for the output resulting
from DISPLAY,
PRINT and
WRITE statements in
a Natural program.
|
CMPRTnn |
Defines an output file for additional reports referenced
by any Natural program executed during the session.
nn is a two-digit decimal number in the range
from 01 to 31 which corresponds to the report number used in a DISPLAY, PRINT or WRITE statement.
|
CMWRKnn |
Defines a work file referenced by any Natural program
executed during the session. nn is a two-digit
decimal number in the range from 01 to 32 which corresponds to the number used
in a READ WORK FILE
or WRITE WORK FILE
statement.
|
NATLOG |
Used to log messages that could not be written to the
batch output file defined with the parameter CMPRINT.
It is recommended to enable NATLOG in batch
mode.
|
The following parameters are used to specify the code pages in which the input files are encoded and in which the output file shall be encoded.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
CPSYNIN |
Specifies the code page in which the batch input file for
commands is encoded. This file is defined with the parameter CMSYNIN.
|
CPOBJIN |
Specifies the code page in which the batch input file for
data is encoded. This file is defined with the parameter CMOBJIN.
|
CPPRINT |
Specifies the code page in which the batch output file
shall be encoded. This file is defined with the parameter CMPRINT.
|
Encoding for CMSYNIN and CMOBJIN:
If a code page is specified for one of the input files
CMSYNIN or CMOBJIN, it is assumed
that the data in the input file is encoded using this code page.
If no code page is specified for one of the input files
CMSYNIN or CMOBJIN, it is assumed
that the data in the input file is encoded using the default code page specified
in the Natural parameter CP.
If no code page is specified in the Natural parameter CP,
it is assumed that the data in the input file is encoded using the current system
code page.
Encoding for CMPRINT:
If a code page is specified for the output file CMPRINT,
the output data will be encoded using this code page.
If no code page is specified for the output file CMPRINT,
the output data will be encoded using the default code page specified in the
Natural parameter CP.
If no code page is specified in the Natural parameter CP,
the output data will be encoded using the current system code page.
If the encoding/decoding fails (for instance if a character is written to
CMPRINT that is not contained in the code page used to encode
the file), the batch job terminates with a startup error 42 (batch mode driver error)
that specifies the file on which the encoding/decoding error occurred.
Note that it is possible in particular to specify UTF-8 as code page in each of these parameters. This allows for reading and writing Unicode data encoded in UTF-8.
This example demonstrates how to start Natural in batch mode. A simple Natural program
is executed and data items are taken from the batch input file. After the items are
processed with the INPUT statement, a DISPLAY statement
follows, which writes the data to the batch output file. Then, Natural terminates.
This example uses the program RECCONT which is stored in the library
SYSEXBAT.
Note
See the text A-README in the library SYSEXBAT for
information on the objects that are stored in this library.
The sample session is invoked with the following call:
natural BATCHMODE CMSYNIN=cmd.txt CMOBJIN=data.txt CMPRINT=out.txt NATLOG=ALL
Note
This call assumes that all files can be found in the current directory and that the
output is written to this directory. If the files are located in different directories
or if the output is to be written to a different directory, you have to specify the
path.
The parameters in the above call are described below:
BATCHMODEThe parameter
BATCHMODEenables batch mode and sets the value of the system variable*DEVICEtoBATCH.CMSYNIN=cmd.txtThe batch input file cmd.txt is a text file which is stored in your file system. The content of this file is shown below. It contains Natural system commands for logging on to the library
SYSEXBAT, executing the Natural programRECCONT, and terminating the Natural session.LOGON SYSEXBAT EXECUTE RECCONT FINThe Natural program
RECCONThas the following content:DEFINE DATA LOCAL 1 #firstname (A10) 1 #lastname (A10) END-DEFINE INPUT (IP=OFF AD=M) #firstname #lastname DISPLAY #firstname #lastname ENDCMOBJIN=data.txtThe
INPUTstatement in the programRECCONTuses the data which is defined in the batch input file data.txt. This is a text file which is stored in your file system. The content of this file is shown below.Ben % SmithNote
The percent character (%) indicates that the information continues in the next line.CMPRINT=out.txtThe
DISPLAYstatement in the programRECCONTwrites the data to the batch output file out.txt which is created in your file system. The content of this file is shown below:NEXT LOGON SYSEXBAT Logon accepted to library SYSEXBAT. NEXT EXECUTE RECCONT DATA Ben % DATA Smith Page 1 25.04.05 13:39:09 #FIRSTNAME #LASTNAME ---------- ---------- Ben Smith NEXT FIN NAT9995 Natural session terminated normally.NATLOG=ALLWhen you invoke the sample session with the above call, a log file is created with contains all types of messages (which also includes the names of the batch input and outfile files). The log file is normally created in Natural's temporary directory which is defined in the local configuration file. See also the description of the
NATLOGparameter.
The image below illustrates the different ways in which Natural reads input and writes output in batch mode.
As shown in the above graphic, you can proceed in one of the following ways:
CMOBJIN and CMSYNIN
Different files are used for batch input. One file contains the Natural commands
and the other file contains the data:
natural BATCHMODE CMSYNIN=cmd.txt CMOBJIN=data.txt CMPRINT=out.txt
CMSYNIN
One file is used for batch input. It contains both the Natural commands and
data:
natural BATCHMODE CMSYNIN=data.txt CMOBJIN=data.txt CMPRINT=out.txt
Note
Even though only one batch input file is used, both parameters
CMSYNIN and CMOBJIN have to be
specified. Both parameters must refer to the same file.
CMOBJIN and STACK
One file is used for batch input. It contains the data. The Natural commands are
specified with the profile parameter STACK:
natural BATCHMODE CMOBJIN=data.txt STACK="(LOGON SYSEXBAT; RECCONT;FIN)"
The system variable *DEVICE indicates whether Natural is
running in batch mode or interactive mode.
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Batch mode | *DEVICE contains the value
BATCH. This value is set by the parameter BATCHMODE.
|
| Interactive mode | *DEVICE contains a value other
than BATCH. In most cases, it contains the value
VIDEO.
|
Example:
IF *DEVICE = "BATCH" THEN WRITE 'This is the background task' ELSE WRITE 'This is the interactive session' END-IF
When Natural is running in batch mode, some features are not available or are disabled:
Interactive input or output is not possible.
There is no mouse support.
No different character fonts are available.
Only data for an INPUT
statement can be processed. Dialog input is only conditionally
supported (see Hints for Using
Natural Maps and Dialogs in Batch Mode).
The output appearance is not GUI-like (it is character-oriented output).
No colors and video attributes are written to the batch output file defined by
CMPRINT.
Filler characters are not displayed within an INPUT statement.
Certain Natural system commands are not executable in batch mode, and are ignored. In the System Commands documentation, a corresponding note is provided for each system command to which this restriction applies.
If an application is designed to run in batch mode as well as in interactive mode, the following considerations should be taken into account.
Within Natural, there are two ways to read input data:
using a map (by using an INPUT statement or the Natural object Map),
using a dialog (by using the Natural object Dialog).
In batch mode, data have to be processed using an INPUT statement, because
a dialog does not allow data processing in batch mode. Terminal commands for navigating
and controlling data are also not supported by a dialog. Nevertheless, a dialog may be
executed in batch mode. In this case, however, the dialog must be altered in the
following way:
The dialog attribute VISIBLE must be set to
FALSE.
Within the event AFTER-OPEN, code should be inserted to read data
during batch mode processing. If Natural runs in batch mode, an INPUT
statement should be coded to get the input data. For interactive mode, the dialog
attribute VISIBLE has to be set to TRUE
to make the dialog visible.
Example for the AFTER-OPEN event:
IF *DEVICE EQ "BATCH" THEN
/* Batch mode processing: call a map */
INPUT USING MAP "BATCHINP" #p1 #p2 #p3
/* ... further data processing ... */
/* Close dialog immediately */
CLOSE DIALOG *DIALOG-ID
ELSE
/* Interactive mode processing: make dialog visible */
#DLG$WINDOW.VISIBLE = TRUE
END-IF
If there is a CLOSE event, ensure that the appropriate code does not
contain any GUI actions in batch mode.
Example for the CLOSE event:
IF *DEVICE NE "BATCH" THEN /* ... GUI actions ... */ END-IF